I followed the K&N Series the whole year and began keeping tabs on the young talent in not only that series, but Xfinity and Trucks as well. At the end of the year I had written down 11 names of drivers under the age of 25, and that's how it began. 7 of those 11 drivers from the 2015 class are now racing in the Cup Series.
Over the years it has been difficult to finalize the list of 10 drivers. Some years I've had to leave drivers off that I thought had a bright future, other years I've had to add some drivers I wasn't sure about just to get to 10. The 2018 class turned out to have a great year, with 1 ARCA win, 4 K&N wins, 2 Truck wins, 11 Xfinity wins, and an Xfinity championship. Not only did that class do well, but there was an explosion of young talent across all of those levels this year, making it very difficult to narrow down the list to 10. Drivers under the age of 25 won 13 Xfinity races in 2018, as well as the championship, 7 Truck races, 22 K&N races (including 1 championship), and 19 ARCA races (including the championship). Because of this I had to leave out several drivers who won races, who I think will eventually climb the ranks, simply because they did not win enough. They will be listed as honorable mentions at the end.
The 2019 class of Rising Stars has 5 returning members and 5 new faces. Let's meet them...
Tyler Ankrum
Age: 17
Hometown: San Bernadino, CA
2018 Ride(s): Full-Time K&N Pro Series East for David Gilliland Racing; Part-Time Truck Series for DGR-Crosley Racing.
One of the things I love most about the K&N Pro Series is that you never know what talent you're going to find. Every year there are a couple of returning drivers, but there is always a slew of new faces who are relatively unknown. Tyler Ankrum was one of those in 2018. Tyler entered the 2018 season as a rookie and most eyes were on his teammate, Tyler Dippel, who had had success in the Series in the past. But it was Ankrum who would end up stealing the spotlight. After finishing in the Top 5 in the first 3 races of the year, he got his first career win at South Boston. He would later rattle off 3 consecutive victories with 2 of those being at venues that the national touring series' were racing at (Loudon & Iowa). He finished off the season with 4 wins, 9 Top 5's, and 12 Top 10's in 14 starts to win the championship. Later in the season he made his Truck series debut at Martinsville, finishing 18th. He got another shot at Truck racing 2 races later at Phoenix where he finished 6th.
Tyler doesn't turn 18 until March, making him ineligible to race on tracks over a mile in length, but after he turns 18 he will run Full-Time in the Truck Series with DGR-Crosley Racing.
Christopher Bell
Age: 24
Hometown: Norman, OK
2018 Ride(s): Full-Time Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing; Part-Time Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports; Part-Time K&N Pro Series West for Bill McAnally Racing.
If you don't know about Christopher Bell by now, you've been living under a rock. This is his 4th consecutive appearance on the Rising Stars list. The 2017 Truck Series champion entered the 2018 season as the championship favorite for the Xfinity Series, despite being a rookie. Bell impressed, as always, winning 7 races, tying the record for most wins by a rookie set by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 1998. Bell also tied the record for most consecutive wins in the Xfinity Series by winning 3 in a row at Kentucky, Loudon, and Iowa. In the 3rd round of the playoffs, Christopher had to battle adversity after finishing 37th and 32nd in the first 2 races. He entered Phoenix in a must win scenario if he was going to keep his title hopes alive. On top of that, he had to start the race from the 38th position. Bell flew threw the field, leading 94 of 200 laps to win the race to lock himself into the championship 4.
Ultimately, he came up short of the championship, but he has another shot in 2019 as he returns to Joe Gibbs Racing to compete Full-Time in the Xfinity Series.
Chase Briscoe
Age: 24
Hometown: Mitchell, IN
2018 Ride(s): Part-Time Xfinity Series for Roush Fenway Racing & Stewart-Haas Racing; Part-Time Truck Series for ThorSport.
Chase returns to the Rising Star list for the 2nd time. After an impressive rookie season with Brad Keselowski racing in 2017, the team shut down, leaving Briscoe looking for a ride. Roush Fenway hired him to run part-time in the Xfinity Series and Stewart-Haas also tagged him to run a few additional races with them. The start of the year was a struggle for Chase. In his first 7 starts he had a best finish of 11th and just 3 Top 15 finishes. At the end of June things began to pick up for him. He nabbed his first career Top 10 with a 9th at Chicago. 3 weeks later he arrived at Eldora in a one race Truck deal for ThorSport and won the race in thrilling fashion, edging out teammate Grant Enfinger for the win. He then picked up another Top 10 at Iowa in the Xfinity Series. In October Chase got behind the wheel of his Stewart-Haas Ford for the first time in 5 months for the inaugural race at the Charlotte Roval. It was his day, dominating the race by leading 33 of the 55 laps and holding off road course aces Justin Marks and Austin Cindric to pick up his first career Xfinity win.
Briscoe will return to Stewart-Haas Racing to race Full-Time in the Xfinity Series in 2019.
Sheldon Creed
Age: 21
Hometown: Alpine, CA
2018 Ride(s): Full-Time ARCA Series for MDM Motorsports; Part-Time Truck Series for GMS Racing & MDM Motorsports; Part-Time K&N Pro Series West for Jan Levin.
Sheldon Creed began his career with off-road racing. In 2013 he joined Robby Gordon's Stadium Super Truck Series and became the youngest winner in series history when he won at Toronto at the age of 15. His finished 2nd in series points in 2014 then went on to when the championship in 2015 and 2016. Also in 2016 Creed began making his transition into stock car racing, running a handful of Truck and ARCA races. In 2017 he split his time between Stadium Super Trucks, Xfnity, Truck, K&N and ARCA. For the 2018 season Sheldon decided to go into full-time stock car racing for the first time. He finished in the Top 5 in the first 4 races of the ARCA season. He got his first career win at Michigan and would win 2 of the next 4 races. Creed would finish out the ARCA season with 4 wins, 16 Top 5's, and 18 Top 10's in 20 starts to lock up the championship. He also made 1 K&N West start when they hit the dirt track at Las Vegas, winning that as well. Sheldon capped off the 2018 season by running the final 4 Truck Series races of the year with GMS Racing. He got his first career Top 10 at the penultimate race in Phoenix, finishing 10th, and then finished 5th in the season finale at Homestead.
Creed will race Full-Time with GMS Racing in the Truck Series in 2019.
Christian Eckes
Age: 18
Hometown: Middletown, NY
2018 Ride(s): Part-Time Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports; Part-Time ARCA Series for Venturini Motorsports.
Coming into the 2018 season Christian Eckes's claim to fame was edging out John Hunter Nemechek to win the 2016 Snowball Derby. He hooked up with Venturini Motorsports to run a part-time schedule in 2018 and the payoff was huge. In just his 2nd start of the year, Eckes cruised to victory at Salem, the first of his career. In 13 ARCA starts he had 3 wins, 6 Top 5's, and 8 Top 10's. He also paired up with Kyle Busch Motorsports to run 4 Truck races in 2018. Christian finished 8th in his Series debut at Iowa. The next race at Gateway, Eckes qualified 2nd and led 34 of the first 70 laps before losing the lead on pit road. He would then get tangled up in a wreck on the ensuing restart that ended his day. In his final 2 starts of the season he continued to run well, finishing 9th in both races.
Christian Eckes will compete Full-Time with Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Series in 2019.
Justin Haley
Age: 19
Hometown: Winamac, IN
2018 Ride(s): Full-Time Truck Series for GMS Racing; Part-Time Xfinity Series for GMS Racing.
This is Justin's 2nd time making the Rising Stars list, the first being in 2017 after winning the 2016 K&N East Series championship. He joins Daniel Suarez as the only drivers to make the Rising Stars list in non-consecutive seasons. After struggling in his rookie season in the Truck Series, Haley quietly put together a strong sophomore year. Haley started off the year with a runner up finish in the season opener at Daytona and solidly put together 5 Top 10 finishes in the first 9 races. When the series came to Gateway it was time for Haley to shine. He took the lead from Noah Gragson on a restart with 7 laps to go then held off a hard charging Todd Gilliland in a 2 lap shootout on the final restart to claim his maiden victory. That was the start of a 12 race streak of Top 10 finishes for Haley. Justin grabbed his next victory at Canadian Tire Motorsports park after leaders Todd Gilliland and Noah Gragson wrecked on the final turn on the final lap and again at Texas when leader Todd Gilliland ran out of gas on the final lap. In June Haley made his Xfinity Series debut at Iowa, finishing 12th. He would make two more Xfinity starts, but would not get a better finish than 12th.
Justin will move up to the Xfinity Series in 2019, driving Full-Time for Kaulig Racing.
Derek Kraus
Age: 17
Hometown: Stratford, WI
2018 Ride(s): Full-Time K&N Pro Series West for Bill McAnally Racing; Part-Time Truck Series for Bill McAnally Racing; Part-Time K&N Pro Series East for Bill McAnally Racing.
Just a kid from rural Wisconsin. Derek's dad, Mark, is a former late model racer and competed against Paul Menard. Paul has been following Derek's career closely. Kraus first hooked up with Bill McAnally in the 2016 Snowball Derby. That led to Derek landing a full-time ride with McAnally for the 2017 K&N West season. Derek had a solid 2017 season, nabbing his first career victory in the season ending race at Bakersfield. The 2018 season started off with a bang for Kraus as the series returned to Bakersfield. Derek took the lead from his teammate, Cole Rouse, with 17 laps to go and cruised to victory, but his biggest thrill of the race was passing NASCAR superstar, and Bakersfield native, Kevin Harvick on his way to the front. Kraus would pick up 3 more victories on the season, including the East/West combo race at Gateway, and finished 4th in Series points with 4 wins, 8 Top 5's, and 10 Top 10's in 14 starts. He also picked up 4 Top 5's in his 7 East Series starts. Derek made his Truck Series debut at Phoenix in November, where he qualified and finished 8th.
Kraus will continue to race in the K&N series for Bill McAnally in 2019 and is working toward putting together a Part-Time schedule in the Truck Series and the ARCA Series.
John Hunter Nemechek
Age: 21
Hometown: Mooresville, NC
2018 Ride(s): Part-Time Xfinity Series for Chip Ganassi Racing; Part-Time Truck Series for NEMCO Motorsports.
This is John Hunter's 4th consecutive appearance on the Rising Stars list. Nemechek secured at part-time ride with CGR for the 2018 season, but still managed to run 18 of the 23 Truck Series races for his family owned team. He picked up his 1 and only Truck win of the season in his 3rd start of the year at Martinsville. In his 18 Truck starts he racked up 6 Top 5's, 10 Top 10's, and led 286 laps. He finished 4th in Xfinity debut at Atlanta, but then hit a rough patch with just 2 Top 10's in his next 8 starts. Things really started to click for Nemechek when the series hit the track at Kentucky in July. He picked up 3 consecutive Top 10's, including 2 Top 5's. He finished off the season with 5 consecutive Top 10 finishes, including 3 Top 5's and his first career win at Kansas. Despite securing the victory at Kansas and finishing the season with 8 Top 10's in 9 races, Nemechek lost his ride with CGR. That may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise, however, as earlier this week CGR announced it was shutting down it's Xfinity program due to a loss of sponsorship after it's primary sponsor, DC Solar, began being investigated by the FBI.
John Hunter will race Full-Time in the Xfinity Series in 2019 for GMS Racing.
Tyler Reddick
Age: 22
Hometown: Corning, CA
2018 Ride(s): Full-Time Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports.
This is Tyler Reddick's 4th consecutive appearance on the Rising Stars list. It was a roller coaster of a year for Reddick. He started off the season by edging out his teammate, Elliott Sadler, by 0.0004 seconds to win at Daytona, the closest finish in NASCAR history. Tyler was solid for the first few months of the season with 10 Top 10's in the first 14 races, but only 2 Top 5's. Things began to spiral out of control from there. Over the next 12 races, Reddick had 5 DNF's, with 7 finishes outside of the Top 20. Things picked back up as the playoffs began, though, finishing in the Top 10 in the opening 2 races. After a 5th place finish at Kansas to start the 2nd round of the playoffs (just his 5th top 5 of the year), it was announced that Tyler would not return to JRM in 2019. That didn't seem to matter, however, as he then went on to finish 2nd at Texas and 6th at Phoenix to secure his spot in the Championship 4 at Homestead. Reddick was widely considered the underdog going into the season finale, but he used that as fuel to feed his fire. With 37 laps to go he took the lead from Christopher Bell and never looked back, blowing the competition away, riding the wall flawlessly and beating Cole Custer by almost 7 seconds to win the championship.
Tyler Reddick will race Full-Time for Richard Childress Racing in the Xfinity Series in 2019.
Zane Smith
Age: 19
Hometown: Huntington Beach, CA
2018 Ride(s): Full-Time ARCA Series for MDM Motorsports; Part-Time Truck Series for DGR-Crosley Racing.
After a successful part-time effort for Venturini Motorsports in 2017, Zane Smith landed a full-time ARCA ride with MDM Motorsports for the 2018 season. The relationship paid off. Smith qualified 2nd for the season opener at Daytona, leading the first 24 laps of the race, but his day ended short when he was caught up in an accident with 13 laps to go. Smith then when on a roll winning 3 of the next 4 races (the other finish was a 2nd). He would grab 5 Top 5's in the next 8 races before winning again at Pocono. Smith also made his Truck Series debut at Gateway in June, where he finished 5th. The 2018 season didn't go without controversy for Zane, though. After contact with Michael Self in the September race at Salem Speedway ruined Zane's chances for the win, the team fixed up his car just enough for him to go back on the track and intentionally wreck Self. The incident led to a physical altercation in the pits and Smith was parked for by ARCA for the remainder of the race and fined $5,000. In the end, Smith finished the season with 4 wins, 12 Top 5's, and 13 Top 10's to snag the Rookie of the Year.
Zane will run Part-Time for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series in 2019.
Honorable Mentions
Cole Custer
Todd Gilliland
Noah Gragson
Ben Rhodes
Look for these drivers at a track near you in 2019 and keep an eye out for the next generation of young talent to take the sport by storm. Happy Racin' Y'all!
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